#[ i 100% agree with weekes. to understand the character of solas and just how tragic the concept is of a spirit that goes down this path. ]

[iniziare]

Following my usual daily ventures on X and Tumblr, I realized that there's two things that I wanted to address/bring up. So, as per usual: spoilers. /echo, echo.

— The Fade prison is still failing. It needed replacement (which is referenced on several occasions, but a big one is during the memory with Mythal that expands on the DAI scene), and nothing in current lore tells me that this has changed in any way: it's still failing. Nothing I can find says that it now being bound to Solas, who is decently weaker than Elgar'nan, magically 'resolves' that issue. Therefore, his 'atonement' doesn't automatically equate to an 'eternal imprisonment', even if Lavellan's choice of words for going with him include 'forever', for she simply doesn't know what she's walking into or for how long, and instead enforces this tether to him from the deepest form of trust one one else could ever find (heartbreak.mp3). The atonement lasts as long as Rook decides as they hold the dagger, or until the Veil falls on its own. But that touches on another topic briefly: if you want to 'punish' Solas the most, or longest— though this ending is 'kindest' (not quite), it is the one that keeps him in the prison the longest. The dagger trick (this warrants a post on its own, and it's the only one I have writing beef with, character 'bias' aside), or the worst ending(s) all send the lyrium dagger with him, which, has you wonder if he's then simply given the opportunity to slice into the Veil, and slip out. Does the prison need a host, if said host holds the lyrium dagger? And even if he couldn't what could he do from inside after 'Pride' has been taunted, and 'punished' (in Rook's, and the audience's eyes), since again, he is in possession of his dagger? There is no atonement here, only resentment from a spirit that is now even closer to finding its fully perverted nature of a Pride demon. So I think if speaking morally across the board, which option is really 'for the greater good of Thedas', instead of personal resentment (though understandable)? But in that, I like that we're repeatedly told that we don't know, and we're making it up as we go. Out of all protagonists, Rook's personal journey of mental development is the most intriguing to me, and arguably (in my opinion), is the most 'human' in the sense that I think they give us the most relatable options of choice, understandable/relatable resentment being one of them. But anyway, I digress: if the atonement ending isn't chosen, then I definitely think the story isn't quite concluded, even though I don't believe that it ever really is.

— Blood magic. No, Solas has no loathing for the nature of blood magic at its essence. He stated so very clearly back in DAI during a conversation with the Inquisitor in Haven, and the bit of the conversation that pertains to my point goes as follows: 'Magic is magic, just as water is water, but it can be used in different ways. (...) Dalish magic is more practical, not needing Chantry approval, although they still frown on blood magic. Superstition.' And when you ask him to elaborate, 'You said censure against blood magic was a superstition...' He adds: 'Most modern cultures forbid blood magic. Publicly, even Tevinter disapproves of it. But as I said, magic is magic. It matters only in how it is used.' And yes, I can already hear it, I know exactly what point will be brought up (lucky me, I found a video that touches on this exact topic that showcases both scenes): and I want to say firmly that no, this is not a retcon, nor is it Solas changing his mind, nor is this a total and utter lie (he rarely, rarely lies that fully, and clearly). He simply states that he abhors the use of it, as in— he, himself, despises using it; which is why he so firmly says no to Cole, when the notion is brought up in DAI. Now yes, he did employ the use of blood magic in relation to Rook (the extents, I need to do research on, as it's obvious that Solas absolutely winged that part of this 'plan', but all of it is also a bit flimsily written due to, for starters, the details that Varric shares being incredibly personal at times, but I digress), and I see so many on X and whatnot complain of how this means that 'Solas changed his mind', no— what it intends to show you, is the ferocity with which he believes that he, and only he, is able to fix what he broke. The game intends to show you that over, and over again, and it is to prove just how far a spirit can be pushed from where it started. And no, stop approaching Solas as if he is your regular elf next door, or anything but exactly what he is: a spirit. Trying to sway a spirit from its nature is incredibly difficult (we'll go into Mythal, and the nature of his care, and devotion to her that started the journey of his spirit's perversion, another day), and that is literally the explanation behind what people are calling an 'inconsistency'. It's called desperation, but more so, the strength of a belief, or more specifically, how far something that is akin to being... the 'personification' of a belief can go in, well, its own belief. I think Solas has proven that one can go very far. The perversion of spirits, and the reality of what demons then truly are, is a tragedy that Dragon Age has been trying to prove to us for years. It doesn't take away the wrongs that they can do once they get twisted, but it's tragic, because spirits are benevolent; serene, and peaceful at their core. And it's kind of heartbreaking to know that something so purely good, can be pulled from that nature.

[corseque]

It is wild that DA4 is going to be the first DA game for lots of people and their first impression of Solas will be this badass hot god. Meanwhile, we will always remember him as the unassuming hobo that stealthily stole our hearts. Some stories are about discovering the people inside the monster, others about finding out that your lover has claws. Do you think that Lavellan knowing him first as Solas, rather than the wolf, is core to their romance? From a writing perspective?

Yeah, I do! Their love story is a fairy tale. Their love story is about a mortal falling in love with an immortal god who is in disguise, and loving him just for himself, despite thinking he is powerless and poor and “nondescript.” And this is why I get a little feral when people talk shit about how Solas looks, like... that’s a key part of the love story, lads! congrats for being too shallow to pass the test of noticing the value of the god disguised as the bald homeless man, this simple test found in a hundred fairy tales. All of the conversations between Solas and Dorian and Vivienne about appearances and fashion and using how you look to invoke a certain response, all of those manipulations really worked on you. You learned nothing from Beauty and the Beast. Deceived by appearances. Beauty is found without, I guess.

What also makes me laugh about this is that Solas’ sense of pride in himself and his own worth is absolutely, utterly divorced from his appearance. He is dressed in rags and delights in it. He doesn’t give a shit. Literally nothing could make him think differently about himself. Your opinion means nothing. His opinion of himself is a conversation that he is holding only with himself.

At the same time, I don’t think there is a difference between Solas and the Old Wolf. That capability within himself is an inseparable part of who he is. I remember him being my favorite in part because there was this incongruous ruthlessness that came out of this kind gentle wise wizard sometimes that surprised and delighted me. Long before the ending of the game, I knew he had claws. I just didn’t know how long they were, or that the wolf was quite so large.

As to how he’ll be portrayed to a new audience, sorry if this doesn’t address your exact question, I’m kind of rambling with too many thoughts.

But this is something I’ve been thinking a lot about since Tevinter Nights dropped with new info about the tone they’re going to use to portray him in DA4. With the shockingly light (but at the same time, dark) tone of his appearance in Tevinter Nights, it seems like the #1 goal of this character is to keep him humanized the way you knew him in Inquisition. I think they understand that his humanity is what’s the true draw of the emotional reaction to his character. They are constantly (and I feel, kind of desperately, against the great tide of the fandom) working now simply to remind the audience that he’s a person and not a great monster. There’s a story 100% dedicated to exploring what Solas’ true internality and regrets were in Inquisition. There’s a story that had Solas dress up in a mask and ringlet curls and use a “oui oui” French accent as an elaborate disguise, and Solas gets called out for doing it and he gets all sheepish about it. He still a person. “He’s always someone who can be like that,” as Weekes says. He’s dark but light, unintentionally funny but tragic, all sorts of diametrically opposed opposites contained in one single person.

I’ll probably get disagreement about this (and I do think that in certain key plot scenes he was being sneaky), but especially from listening to the interviews, I don’t think it was the canon writing intent that Solas The Apostate Mage was a fabricated lie of a personality, or something Solas lives above and pretends to lower himself to be. I think Solas in Inquisition is pretty much his true self, who he would exist as without any of the bullshit going on. “Solas” is really his name, that’s what he called himself long before he was called anything else. And because his story is so un-guessable, he barely concedes to the need to lie in Inquisition. He doesn’t really need to give a grand or constant performance, and he doesn’t pretend to agree with you at any point if he doesn’t agree with you. “The most interesting thing about the trickster god is that he’s actually not that great a liar” as Weekes says about him. He does wear masks, especially his “polite mask,” but Solas even admits that Lavellan sees the real truth under it. So the real truth was and is there to be seen.

In Tevinter Nights, when he’s actually trying his best to hide and wearing a mask, Charter calls him out and he removes it, showing his true (mildly embarrassed) face. So this is telling us - he’s not a character who can’t be known. And he’s still the character we know he is.

It’s a difficult balancing act, to have a god of deception and to get people to genuinely care about them. So Solas as a character lives in genuineness and dips his toe in fabrication, because the writers know that genuineness will resonate with an audience. When he talks, he genuinely deeply cares about what he’s talking about. When he’s passionate, those are his true passions. Those are genuinely the opinions that he has.

All of this is to say (and sorry that I was rambling here to try to get my thoughts in order) that in DA4, I think even the new players may see his humanity. Weekes talks in interviews about how important it is for them to remember his humanity, even while writing Low Approval Solas. So I’m sure there will be moments where the new audience will want to play the previous game just to know more about him. Especially after Tevinter Nights, I don’t think Weekes will be able to resist trying to give that experience to everyone, not just the people who played the other game.